Ed's First Day of School
by LeFay Strent
Summary: Al enrolls Taylor and Ed in an academy. But once at the school Ed's hair becomes a big problem. -A side story for TBA-


**This story is inspired by two people. Mage of Hope suggested that Taylor, Ed, and Al go to an academy and Elementess suggested Ed's Various Hairstyles. I combined them to make this interesting story.**

**All of this is from Taylor's point of view.**

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><p>Life had been going great for Ed, Al and I. Together, the three of us had defeated the Homunculi, restored the once corrupted military, and helped a lot of people along the way. We had even managed to restore Alphonse's body and now he could live life as a regular fifteen year old boy. Unfortunately, Ed still had his automail arm and leg. Al and I had offered to help him find a way to get his limbs back but he swore up and down that he was happy with just getting Al's body back. He smiled so much more nowadays that I believed him. But his smiles quickly disappeared when we entered school.<p>

Since our lives had settled down considerably, I had asked the brothers if we could go to school. I missed the old days when I had been living on the other side of the gate. High school had been a normal part of my life. I hadn't ever loved it but now I appreciated it.

Al had agreed with me whole heartedly, saying that it would be fun. Ed thought that we had both lost our minds. Al and I had begged and pleaded with him numerous times but he refused. I even whipped out the puppy dog eyes, thinking that it would work. However, either my puppy dog look sucks or Ed has a will of steel cause he never relented. And when the time came that Al told him that he had signed us all up to Central Academy Ed was severely pissed. He vowed that nothing, not even registering him, could make him go. But Al and I never lost our determination. So we called in the big guns.

With a phone call on my part, Winry made a special trip to Central. She kicked down the door while we were eating lunch. We were all surprised at first but then Al and I began laughing uncontrollably as Winry beat Ed into submission, screeching at him that he would go to school. After that, Ed suddenly found a new outlook on receiving an education.

The first day of school rolled around and the three of us got up that morning to get ready. Al and I had to practically drag Ed out of bed. As soon as I made a comment about calling Winry he bolted from the bed and hastily threw on his clothes. Snickering, I left to go finish getting ready.

We were set to leave in a few minutes. Ed was still in the bathroom, making Al and I impatient. Al went and knocked on the door, "Brother, are you ready? We're going to be late if we don't leave soon."

A muffled response came from behind the door. Al glanced at me and shrugged. I sighed. We were going to have to do this the hard way.

"Ed!" I shouted, banging on the door. "Get your shrimpy butt out here!"

"In a minute and I'M NOT SHORT!"

"And I'm the Easter Bunny." I snorted. "Hiding in the bathroom isn't going to get you out of this."

"I'm not hiding!" he snapped.

"Then what are you doing?" I demanded.

He cursed and said, "Just go away!"

I didn't take that too well. I went for the doorknob. Of course, Ed had locked it. I clapped my hands and touched the handle. Due to my anger I ended up blowing the whole handle off. Oops. Ah well. I'd fix it later. The door swung open to a peculiar sight.

I stared at a wide eyed Ed, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." he grumbled, going back to look at his reflection in the mirror. He began tugging at his loose locks of hair.

"Brother." Al said from beside me. "What's wrong?"

"Other than the fact that I have to go to school? Nothing!" he said sarcastically.

I raised my brow, scanning him warily, "Seriously Ed, what is it? It almost looks like you're worried about your…" Then I snorted, "That's it isn't it? You're worried about your hair?"

"Shut up!" he responded. "This isn't any of your business!"

I giggled. This was just too much. "Ed, if you need help all you have to do is ask."

"I don't need help." he rumbled. "I just don't know how to wear it is all."

"What's wrong with your usual braid?" Al asked, trying hard not to let his amusement show on his face.

"Well, I was going to fix it like I usually do but I thought a regular ponytail might make me look older."

Suppressing my laughter, I said in my most serious voice, "Or you could go with pigtails." I even pulled his hair up to the sides to demonstrate.

Ed crossed his arms, "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Yep." I answered simply. "Al, how do you think Ed should wear his hair?"

Clearly having fun, Al suggested, "Braided pigtails."

"Ha! Wait, no! I got a better idea." I slid my hands under Ed's hair and pushed it upwards to the top of his head. "Mohawk!"

Ed swatted my hands away and brushed past us out the door, "Forget it! I'll just wear it down."

Al and I looked at each other with huge grins. We are so evil.

Central Academy was bigger and better than I could have ever dreamed. On our first day I fell in love with the place. The teachers were cool so I didn't mind if the class was hard. The food was surprisingly great in the cafeteria. And some of the students were nice. Unfortunately, things that day didn't go so well with Ed.

From the moment we walked into the building, Ed got into a fight. He walked into some big jock type of dude. At first, the guy was polite and said, "S'cuse me, shorty." But Ed just had to blow up.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A MICROSCOPIC MIDGET?" Ed yelled.

The jock was taken aback for a moment until anger seeped into his voice, "I didn't say that, but yeah, you are kinda a midget."

"I'LL BREAK YOU'RE FACE!" Ed roared and lunged for him. He got a punch in before Al and I could drag him off the guy.

"Alright, shorty. You asked for it." the jock sneered and went for Ed.

"Stop this nonsense!" A teacher stepped between us. The jock immediately stopped and paid attention to the woman respectfully. Ed just stood in quiet fury.

"Walk away, Josh." the woman told him. He nodded and did just that. Then she turned to Ed, "Young man. At this academy we will not tolerate violence. Is that clear?"

Ed frowned until Al elbowed him. "Yes ma'am." Ed muttered.

"Now get to class." she told us sternly.

"Yes ma'am." I smiled nervously at her and Al and I pulled Ed down the hall towards our first class.

"Who does that woman think she is?" Ed mumbled in irritation.

I smacked the back of his head, "You idiot! You should be grateful she didn't suspend or expel you. It's amazing that she didn't even give you a detention."

"Whatever. That jerk was asking for it."

"Brother, you need to be nicer." Al chided him.

Muttering under his breath, Ed went into our first class. Al and I followed behind.

Our first class was awesome! It was Advanced Alchemy! Ed and Al may know just about all there is when it comes to the subject but I was far from the masters they were. I became absorbed in the lesson. I think Al and Ed enjoyed the class, even if it only refreshed their knowledge.

But it was only a matter of time before something else went wrong. Cause things just had to go wrong somehow, no matter what.

During the whole class period, the other classmates had been whispering to each other and stealing glances at Ed. The girls were giggling to each other and the guys were laughing mischievously to one another. I noticed halfway through the class hour and turned to look at Ed to see if he knew. Oh yeah. He had definitely noticed. He scowled fiercely, trying his hardest to pay attention to the lesson. He couldn't however when a boy next to him leaned over and said, "Nice hair." The way he said it obviously meant it wasn't a compliment.

Ed growled, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." he smirked. "Just that you look like a girl."

The pencil Ed held in his hand snapped in two. The teacher turned to see what was going on and all went quiet. After a few minutes the whispers started up again and Ed's body remained rigid for the rest of the hour.

That's how the rest of the day went. Although, the classes were fun, there were always students teasing Ed about his hair. I've got to admit, Ed kept his cool for the most part and didn't give into the temptation of beating them all up.

We were about to go to lunch when I stopped him and held out a hair band. "Here. This might help." I smiled at him.

He frowned but took it. He pushed his hair up into a ponytail quickly. Then we went into the cafeteria.

Things didn't get better. In fact, they got worse.

We sat down with our food and began digging in when a group of guys walked up to Al.

"Hey man." one of the guys greeted him. "Don't you got it good? Getting to hang around with a couple of chicks."

Ed turned his glare on the guy. The student faked surprise when he saw him and said, "Oh, my bad. Thought you were a girl." The boys laughed and walked away.

"Just ignore those punks." I told Ed.

"What do you think I've been doing all day?" Ed asked sarcastically.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'll bite the next person who's rude to you."

Ed actually cracked a smile at that. Until the next person really did walk by and coughed, "Girl," under his breath. Ed gave me a pointed look. I went to get up so that I could fulfill my promise but Al pushed me back down and shook his head.

Then, yet another person walked by and made fun of Ed's hair. "Hey, are you homo or do you just like looking like a girl?"

The metal fork in Ed's hand actually bent he squeezed it so hard. He exploded in a stream of curses and lunged for the guy. Al and I could barely keep him from attacking the moron. The guy wisely scurried away.

"Brother! Calm down!" Al pleaded.

Ed shrugged us off, "No! I will not calm down! I've had enough of this shit. I'm out of here." He stomped out of the cafeteria.

Al was about to go after him but I placed a hand on his shoulder, "I'll talk to him." He hesitated for a moment and nodded.

I rushed out of the cafeteria after Ed.

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><p>I didn't bother checking around the academy. Ed wouldn't have stuck around here. I went straight to the apartment we had been living in for a while. Sure enough, I found the front door cracked slightly. He probably hadn't shut it all the way when he had stormed in.<p>

I entered the living room quietly, closing the door behind me. Ed wasn't in the living room. Or the kitchen. I peeked into his and Al's room. Empty. The last place I checked was the bathroom. The door was partially open. I pushed it carefully to the side and gasped at what I saw.

"What are you doing?" I yelled as I snatched the scissors out of his hand. He had had them up at his ponytail, ready to cut.

"Give them back!" he demanded.

"Why?" I asked.

"Why the hell do you think? So I can cut my hair."

"You can't just cut your hair because of a bunch of morons who have nothing better to do than tease people. If you cut it just because you're mad you'll regret it later."

"I'm pretty sure I won't. It's better than being called a girl!"

"It doesn't matter what other people say. Just forget about them."

Ed stared at me critically, "Taylor. They called me a _girl_. They think it makes me look like a freaking _girl_!"

"Well I think it makes you look sexy!" I retorted angrily. Then I stopped when I realized what I had said.

Ed's eyes widened and all the anger seeped out of his expression. "You…what?"

"I-I-" I stuttered, blushing furiously. I just didn't know how to control my mouth. And now Ed was looking at me funny. God! I'm such an ignoramus!

Rather than responding, I fled the room. I made it as far to the living room couch and sank down to the cushions. _I can't believe I just said that_, I thought over and over.

A good ten minutes passed before Ed stepped out of the bathroom. My eyes instantly locked onto him. His whole demeanor seemed to have changed. He wore a blank, unreadable expression. What could he possibly be thinking right now?

"So…" he began nonchalantly. "You think I'm…sexy?"

My cheeks warmed and I averted my eyes, "I didn't say that. I said that your _hair_ looks sexy."

A smile spread across his face, "No. You said that my hair makes _me_ look sexy." I didn't respond so he said, "Why, Taylor. I didn't know you felt that way about me."

"I never said I did." I fidgeted in my seat.

His grin got wider, "You're not saying you don't either."

My blush went into overdrive and I muttered, "You're such a dingbat."

"Yeah, but I'm your dingbat." he teased, leaning against the doorway of the bathroom.

The way he said it made it sound like an invitation. Oh, lord. My heart beat frantically in my chest and butterflies filled my stomach. "Okay. So what? It's obvious that you're hot, Ed. It's kinda hard not to notice. It doesn't mean anything. Lots of girls think you're hot."

His eyebrows furrowed, "No they don't."

"Honestly, how much of a dingbat are you?" I scoffed. "Do you know why all of those girls were giggling and those guys were being mean to you? It's because the girls like you and think you're sexy and the guys are jealous that you're getting all of the attention. It's not because you look like a girl since you have long hair. It's because you're too damn sexy for your own good."

I breathed heavily after my rant. My face had to have been the reddest it's ever been. I was so not comfortable having this conversation.

Ed's reaction was worth it though. His expression was one of awe. A slow smile spread across his lips, "Really?"

I snorted. I could practically see his ego growing. "Yeah. I've never seen anyone more oblivious to their own good looks."

Ed sauntered over to the couch and sat on the other end. He didn't look at me. He stared at the ceiling in thought. "I never thought of myself that way. I always thought that my automail made me look ugly."

_Winry would kill him if she heard that_, I thought. Then I realized what Ed was doing. He was opening up about himself. He was actually confiding in me. This had to be hard for him, admitting something like this.

"Ed, just because you have automail doesn't make you ugly. It just shows that you've seen the harsher parts of life and was strong enough to get through them. Some people even think that automail is cool. Like Winry." I pointed out, making him sigh. "And me. But Ed, I can honestly say that even with the automail you are still the hottest guy I have ever met."

He turned to me then. A light blush painted his cheeks but he smiled through it. It was one of those rare smiles of his that reached his eyes, making them glow like golden sunsets.

I frowned and pushed his shoulder playfully, "Just don't let that get to your head though."

He laughed, "I won't"

"Now then. Let's put these back where you found them," I gestured towards the scissors I still held, "and get back to school. Al's there and he's worried about you."

"Do we have to?" Ed whined.

"Yes." I said getting up. " Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if by the end of the school day a bunch of girls asked you out."

Ed may have always pretended that he didn't care but the truth was nothing I could have said could make him rush out of the room any faster. Putting the scissors away and laughing to myself, I followed him out.

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><p><strong>I agree with Taylor completely. Ed is too damn sexy for his own good. Review if you agree. Even if you aren't a Resembool Ranger, please review. And I can't decide if I'm part of the Resembool Rangers or the Miniskirt Army. Both are so tempting. I was thinking about it the other day and then I thought, "But what about Al? He's cute and sweet! Does he have a fan club? He needs one." And so, even though I still haven't decided, I did decide on a name for Al's fan club. The Kitty Brigade. I think it's fitting.<strong>


End file.
